How's your Micra's stability on the highway? (Frequent negative comment in reviews.)

http://storage.autonet.ca/v1/dynamic...8177423&clip=0

OK, I've now seen 75+ media reviews of the Micra -- most of them are summarized here in the forum.

One criticism that has come up repeatedly is stability on the highway, especially when windy:

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...the Mirca is prone to wander on the highway. Add in moderate crosswinds and the car requires full attention from the driver. Ramp those wind speeds up high enough to require an official warning from the National Weather Service and the Micra begins to get tossed around like a bottle of peach schnapps at prom.

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Autoguide.com

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...being such a tall, light car, you will find yourself embattled by crosswinds.

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Carpages.ca

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Crosswinds will cause the little hatch to wobble as will passing larger 18-wheelers

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Auto-Venus.com

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Micra does not like crosswinds

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Autonet.ca

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...the Micra’s light weight and slightly-soft suspension tuning can cause it to feel a little uneasy, especially on windy days or near transport trucks

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Auto123

When I borrowed the SR for a week, I didn't notice anything unusual in this department.

But to be honest, (1) I didn't do any high speed (over 100 km/h) driving, and (2) I don't remember it being particularly windy when I was on the open road.

Also, I had the SR, which has wider factory rubber, and likely better stability as a result.

So what's up with this criticism? Can you confirm or deny? Be honest!

Confirm it is so bad some times that I have to keep two hands on the wheel. It is narrow and as a lift truck driver I can appreciate that. The micra only needs half a lane so when you are close to the right side of a lane your left side tires are on the hump between the tire tracks on the road which is handy when the cops have somebody pulled over on a two lane and in tight city traffic. It also leaves room to wander when the wind blows you over a foot all of a sudden. It is also tall and the wind seems to "get under it" so to speak and move the rear end over which makes you have to correct it and then it's on time to put the coffee in the cup holder and pay attention. The springs are too soft for me and I think that contributes to the "sway" (pardon the pun) as well. I've had mine for six months and have thirty thousand on it mostly highway and have had it to the speed limiter two or three times but would not go much over a hundred k if it's windy.

Thanks for the report.

30000 km definitely gives you a better sense than the 1400 or whatever I put on it!

It seems like it is worse with gusty crosswinds. Headwind and tailwind not so much. Behind a transport or even a pick up it does the back and forth side to side more than say a civic would.Add ice/snow to a good gusty crosswind and you will notice. How are the micra sales in the Atlantic provinces or the prairies where there is lots of windy days?

in my experience,

with minimal or no winds, the micra will become uneasy past 120kph, and it will be really pronounced if you reach 140kph or past. but this is a small hatch afterall, so i expect it. one can't really overcome physics.

I did not notice that much problem when it's not windy but when it is very windy I have to slow down a bit. It's a short and narrow car, but it's quite high, it's 4'' higher than a Honda Civic. With such proportion it gives the car a cute look but also less stability. It is much more stable then a high and narrow SUV though. I used to drive a Ford Bronco and that was scary.. and the Suzuki Samurai. The Micra handle much better than this. There are better cars for windy condition on the highway at high speed, but there are much worse too.

I have been at 120 kmph and it was fine, but I guess it depends the on the wind direction.

I am also guessing that any small similar car will have the same problems, like the mini, or the Fiat should have similar problems.

What is better for this, 16 inches wheels or 15? Does it make a difference? All the reviews seem to be of the S base model with the 15 inches wheels.

I've been commuting 4 days a week since January, with a short section of 401 and then about 30 minutes of country highway (80km/h limit, hilly) and I've never felt like it's a problem. It's not even that it's "acceptably bad" - I honestly don't notice any more squirrelly behaviour than other cars I've driven under crosswinds. I'm surprised it gets mentioned on so many reviews.

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Originally Posted by Pete

I've had mine for six months and have thirty thousand on it mostly highway and have had it to the speed limiter two or three times but would not go much over a hundred k if it's windy.

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Do pray tell what the max speed is. At 130 on my local stretch of #1 it is doing almost 4k rpm

Well, I do a ton of highway driving, and yeah, the micra is light, and gets blown around a little, but it's nothing apart from anyone driving any lightweight hatch. My EG6 and my K11 were much much worse. Basically, if you're on the highway, pay attention. This should be standard in ALL vehicles. It's light, but it doesn't catch half as much wind as my full size chev with a canopy. As far as max speed goes, I had mine to 180ish. At that speed, I wasn't really looking at the speedometer, I was busy trying not to **** myself. The car goes much faster than the wheelbase wants it to. At high speed, if you sneeze with both hands on the wheel, you run the risk of cartwheeling. LOL

180kph....i dont think i'd ever try that for a subcompact. you are braver than me.